


Life Continues

by iosi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 02:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11796831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iosi/pseuds/iosi
Summary: That doesn’t mean Kazuichi can’t ask questions along the way.Spoilers for Super Dangan Ronpa 2.Summer Vacation AU where1. The Dangan Ronpa antagonist doesn't exist,2. Class 77-B is mostly unaware of one another,3. For unexplained reasons Nidai is in his SDR2 form.





	Life Continues

**Author's Note:**

> Concept: 9.18.16  
> Update 3.4.17  
> Update: 8.14.17

On a sweltering summer day, Kazuichi skids his bike to a halt. The bike is comically overcrowded; when his energetic classmate jumps off the back, it almost tips over and spills his precious cargo. Ibuki catches them just in time and shoves the parts boxes into his hands, then swings her guitar to her back with flourish. She bounces ahead as Kazuichi awkwardly gets off the bike, skipping to the entrance of the quaint building in front of them. Ignoring the CLOSED sign on the door, the pair march in.

 

Despite Hope’s Peak Academy being a prestigious school, it is not exempt to the glory that is summer vacation. From an outsider’s perspective, the only thing that Kazuichi changes about his daily schedule from school to summer is _where_ he bangs on machine parts and gets greasy. This isn’t entirely incorrect. He’s happy so long as he has his machines and his tools. Kazuichi doesn’t usually have people in his workshop, though, and he _certainly_ doesn’t have people thoughtlessly grabbing his equipment and running amok.

 

On a sweltering summer day, that’s exactly what has happened, and Kazuichi has long given up on getting his screwdrivers back. Ibuki’s cackles echo in the refreshingly cool and empty salon of the Super High School Level Stylist. Kazuichi leans back and thinks it’s not bad to hang out in a place like this every once in a while – then again, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t; this is a one-time occurrence. The Super High School Level Stylist Stylist is out on an emergency errand. The three of them bonded over being DIY people, and Kazuichi has no interest in touching other’s hair. As such, even though they’ve been asked to hold down the fort, the sign on the unlocked front door remains closed.

 

Even without any traffic, it’s a slow, sleepy day, and this part of town isn’t completely awake yet. They aren’t expecting anyone to show up at this time of day, closed or not, so that means Kazuichi is the (unfortunate) sole audience member to Ibuki’s ‘practice’. He’s already disconnected her amps so the neighbors don’t kick them out, but there’s nothing he can do to calm Ibuki’s creativity. Her guitar lying forgotten in a chair, Ibuki is banging on the tables with Kazuichi’s wrenches like a drum, screaming her vocal chords hoarse. Kazuichi tries his best to wrench the wrenches away, but the ensuing tug of war between panicked mechanic and hyperactive puppy results in one of the wrenches flying throughout the air – towards the _opening_ door. The door, which is supposed to be shut.

 

“-Ah.”

 

Kazuichi’s life flashes before his eyes as the death scene that will surely follow begins to play out in front of him. Fortunately for his poor bank account and future prison prospects, the stranger… catches the wrench? Kazuichi’s eyes follow the hand calmly clenching the wrench to – to –

 

Kazuichi screams. What has walked in the front door is a walking hair nightmare. From behind, Ibuki chuckles nervously as _it_ pushes into the salon. Black hair coats the floor in unending waves. Somewhere within the mass of hair, Kazuichi spots two impassive, red eyes. It takes Kazuichi’s brain a second to catch up and realize they’re looking straight at him. Cold washes down his back, but then he’s being dragged back, arm forcefully gripped by Ibuki as they bolt out the back entrance, the other wrench laying forgotten on the table.

 

There is a frantic apology session with the Super High School Level Stylist Stylist for abandoning the salon, but inventory is taken and everything is still in order, save for what Ibuki touched. In a food court on the opposite side of town, Kazuichi tries his hardest to convince his friends of their sighting of BigHair that fateful day, truly a legend among blizzards and storms and hairdressers, but his doomsayer spiel falls upon deaf ears. Akane is busy eating her guts out, Chiaki is playing a game, Ibuki is performing an air solo, and… no-one’s paying attention, are they? Kazuichi is about to pop an artery in frustration, and while it would certainly be interesting to replace his chest cavity with mechanics (just look at _Nidai_ ), now is not the time.

 

Chiaki saves his inevitable trip to the hospital with a simple suggestion. “Why don’t we just stake out in the salon?”

 

Well, it turns out they aren’t allowed to stake out _in_ the salon, so they settle for the rundown café across the street. The entire café is shady, and their group’s antics are certainly drawing more than a few glares. Kazuichi notices one group in particular that looks a _little too much_ like yakuza. But Ibuki is on full-steam-ahead mode, and there’s no way Kazuichi would be able to drag Akane away from the food, so he settles on watching out for BigHair _and_ his back. The grey-haired woman has a sword with her, after all. Is that even allowed? Her eyes are red, too – is there a Super High School Level Stylist Optometrist giving people red eyes? What’s with so many people having red eyes? Is BigHair part of the yakuza?

 

When red eyes snap up to meet his, he hastily turns back to street watch for the black-haired abomination. 

 

Their stakeout continues for several days, and the prospect of getting skewered by the stationary yakuza group (he’s sure now) is looking worse than BigHair minute by minute. Despite Kazuichi’s tough looks, he’s still soft inside, and _any sane person_ would leave the café after hearing the screams from the back room.

 

He’s making his way onto campus later in the week to grab more parts to fidget with (read: any excuse to get away from the café), but even in the homely feeling of his workshop, all he can think about is the watch he’ll be returning to. Cuddling his machines like a teddy bear, Kazuichi wants to breakdown and cry. He relays as such to Mahiru, the girl who photographs his crocodile tear eyes out of the blue. They’re apparently in the same grade, but he’s never met her before - and this utter stranger insists on accompanying him for a chance at seeing BigHair.

 

They pick up another friend/utter stranger/apparent classmate on the way back. Hiyoko whines as she enters the café, body glued to Mahiru’s side, and everyone’s heads turn their way. Mahiru marches up to their table and sits right down, camera in hand, Hiyoko in arm, and stares intently out the window.

 

The café gets a little more crowded, now.

 

One day they find out there’s a new chef. They find out there’s a new chef because Akane insists on breathing food like air, and the chef wants to try _all sorts of things_ on her. At some point Mechamaru Nidai joins in on the stakeout too, and Kazuichi begins crying again as the chef starts hitting on _both of them_. Mahiru, as usual, is the only one who notices Kazuichi’s angst, and she makes sure to snap his blubbering face. 

 

“Smiles are good, but Kazuichi, anyone who sees your face will surely smile,” she says apologetically, then takes another picture for good measure.

 

The people there really are yakuza, as is confirmed one day when _Gundham Tanaka_ is dragged into the café by men in suits. Kazuichi knows the guy. Can’t say he likes him at all, what with his strange looks and even stranger way of speaking, and _definitely not_ because of Sonia’s strange fascination over him, but even Kazuichi wouldn’t wish the screams of the backroom on Gundham. Things are getting tenser by the second, and even the louder members of their group have quieted somewhat. Kazuichi’s getting ready to bolt when _Sonia_ , in her shining armor and angel wings, kicks open the door and proclaims they will all stop _immediately_. 

 

Gundham is released. Sonia drags his tottering form by the arm over to their Watch Corner and pulls out a bag of sunflower seeds. She snaps her fingers, and the café’s lone server hurriedly brings out several sake cups filled with water. Furry beasts suddenly leap out of Gundham’s scarf and onto the table, nibbling the seeds and lapping at the water as if their owner hadn’t just had the scare of his life.

 

_Did she know this was going to happen?!_

 

“No,” Sonia says with a smile made of sunshine beams, “I’m just always prepared for the Four Dark Devas of Destruction.”

 

Kazuichi cradles his head and moans.  

 

The day’s confusion isn’t over yet. Hiyoko catches sight of someone and with a loud whoop, she rushes out of the café. Moments later, a bandage-covered girl, protesting, is dragged in. Kazuichi doesn’t know this one either, but Hiyoko does, and she claims that if she can’t squash ants in this stingy old café, then dumping boiling tea over Mikan is an acceptable alternative. 

 

Kazuichi slightly regrets dying his hair pink now, if this is the kind of crowd he’s been forced to join, but it’s far too late. Nidai’s booming laughter mixes in with the shrieking soprano tones of Ibuki and the trembling wails from Mikan. It’s a cacophony of madness coupled with a suffocating pressure emitting from the red-eyed lady in the back, though when he actually looks back, he notices a shorter member with an eyepatch staring hard at them, too. Mahiru’s known since the beginning that he wants to call it quits in this ridiculous stakeout, so with a moment of miraculous courage, Kazuichi gets up unsteadily and heads towards the door.

 

Of course that’s not the end of it, and as soon as his hand touches the doorknob, his entire world is blown apart. A quick trip of blissful black unconsciousness and he wakes up with Mikan hovering over him. A truck smokes overhead from his position on the ground, one carrying the hostage the Kuzuryu group has spent weeks looking for. The actual perpetrators – “Not Gundham,” Sonia smugly states – have also been rounded up and taken to the back. The front of the café is in shambles, and the Watch Corner group is grouped off to the side. In the back is also one white–headed victim, who beams and smiles at them and aren’t they all so lucky things they all survived a potential bloodbath? 

 

“S-Stay with me, Kazuichi!” But that’s an impossible request for the bandage-clad nurse to ask of him, and Kazuichi gratefully passes out.

 

He gives up trying to resist the chaos his summer vacation has become. Akane drags his bandage-prone form back to the café as soon as the hospital discharges him, and to his despair, all… er… _thirteen_ other people are there. During the time he was in the hospital, Akane and Sonia apparently got friendly with the yakuza there, because the grey-haired swordswoman (“Peko Peko Peko,” Ibuki importantly informs him) is talking with Sonia about serial killers, and the hard-eyed baby-faced yakuza (“Fuyuhiko,” Akane says cheerfully) is in a vigorous discussion with Nidai.

 

The cook, he belatedly realizes, is also probably yakuza – during the Truck Incident, Kazuichi’s almost sure he spotted Teruteru’s long bone skewer sticking out of a nearby body. He’s come out to the front for several weeks already, but it looks like a permanent chair was added to the Watch Corner for the chef.

 

That white-haired maniac, Nagito Komaeda, is here too, and he asks why such a large group is always here by the windows. Kazuichi takes this moment to remember their original purpose - BigHair - and iterates the story to the café. The laughs he’s met with sting his already-gone pride, but Mikan looks thoughtful, and the next day, a rather obese man sits down at their table, right in front of Kazuichi. He grills Kazuichi for the same story he gave to Nagito with a serious face, then leaves immediately. Mikan meekly explains that Mitarai is another classmate of theirs, and that maybe he can help them in their stakeout – summer’s almost over, after all, and they haven’t made any progress. Not that they’ve really been trying, but the newfound large group seems to have a renewed sense of purpose. Kazuichi wonders what Mitarai can provide to help them.

 

The next day, Kazuichi screams. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but Ibuki screams too, and that gets everyone’s attention. Because – _because_ –

 

Entering through the front door is definitely BigHead. Black hair billows out in waves, coating the floor in creeping monstrous pitch. Mahiru starts snapping photos, Gundham readies his Four Dark Devas of Destruction, Peko grasps her sword, Sonia has a _grenade_ _pin_ in her teeth, and -

 

…BigHead is a little more obese than Kazuichi remembers. Hiyoko is quick on the uptake and screams out, “It’s Fatty!” 

 

Kazuichi finally catches BigHead’s red eyes in the mess of black. Those eyes look at them all with disappointment. A hand reaches towards that nightmarish hair, and - rips it off. Kazuichi screams again.

 

“That’s a big head,” Chiaki says simply, and turns back to her lowered console. 

 

The tension in the air is gone and everyone returns to their seats, but Fatty (no, _Mitarai_ , Kazuichi reminds himself) also joins in, chair creaking as he stiffly sits down. Kazuichi warily looks at him, taking a cautious sip of the soda the café server just delivered, but Mitarai turns to talk to the server instead. 

 

“Let me get to know you,” Mitarai solemnly says, and his face is completely serious.

 

Kazuichi spits out his drink to the side, but also all over Sonia, who happens to have sat down right next to him. Mortified at his action and horrified at what Mitarai just said, Kazuichi prays another truck will crash through the café and kill them all. No such luck; that’s in Nagito's territory, and the server turns to face Mitarai.

 

“For what reason?” he says, with a face equally as solemn. Sonia squeals and claps her hands in delight. 

 

“ _Deculture_ ,” she sighs. 

 

Kazuichi’s not sure what she means, and Mitarai doesn’t bother to correct her, but Kazuichi isn’t sure if what he says next is any better.

 

“You’re BigHead, aren’t you?”

 

There’s a moment of silence, and then a collective outrage of _“What?!_ ”

 

The server runs a hand through his _short_ , _brown_ , _ahoge-infested hair_ and nods. “I suppose I am.”

 

Kazuichi points a finger at him and chokes for words. After several near panic-attack breaths and Ibuki hitting him on the back for support, his voice screeches at an absurd high pitch. “But you look nothing like him!”

 

The server - Hajime, Kazuichi reads from the name tag – Hajime Hinata - turns to face him. With a face as serious as one about to deliver a prophecy, he lets loose the damning words.

 

“I got a hair cut.”

 

Ignoring the gobsmacked faces, he gingerly takes the BigHead wig from Mitarai's outstretched hands and puts it on his head. 

 

"Nice wig, though."


End file.
